> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.bold-factory.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Customers

> Understand how customers identify demand and connect sales orders, deliveries and integrations.

A **customer** is a planning master record. It identifies who generates commercial demand and lets you group sales orders, deliveries, external references and service analysis.

A customer record does not replace a sales tool. Keep only data that affects planning, orders, deliveries or integrations in Bold.

## What it is for

| Use | What it provides |
| - | - |
| Sales orders | Indicates who requests the items and lets you filter commitments. |
| Demand | Groups requirements by account, channel or operational customer. |
| Shipments | Preserves the commercial source of warehouse outflows. |
| Integrations | Links Bold customers to a business management system, sales tool, online store or imports. |
| Analysis | Helps you review fulfillment, delays and demand by customer. |

## Main data

| Data | Use | Recommendation |
| - | - | - |
| Name | Identifies the customer in lists, sales orders and filters. | Use the name your team recognizes in operations. |
| External reference | Connects the customer to another system. | Keep a unique, stable reference. |
| Audit trail | Shows creation and last modification. | Use it to review changes, not as operational data. |

## Relationship with sales orders

Each sales order belongs to a customer. The order header stores the commercial context, and its lines explain which items are needed, in what quantity and by which date.

Confirmed lines generate demand and can be grouped by customer. Draft lines do not generate demand.

<Info>
  The customer identifies the source of demand. The sales order explains the commitment. The shipment records the physical outflow.
</Info>

## Lifecycle

| Status | Meaning |
| - | - |
| **Active** | You can use the customer in new orders and integrations. |
| **Inactive** | The customer is retained for traceability, but you should not use it for new operational data. |

When you delete a customer, Bold marks it inactive through soft deletion. Previous orders and events retain the reference to preserve history.

## Operational rules

* The name should clearly identify the customer for operations.
* The external reference should remain stable if it comes from an integration.
* Check for duplicates before importing sales orders.
* Do not use a generic customer if you need to analyze service, deliveries or delays by account.
* If a customer becomes inactive, create or select another customer for new commitments.

## Permissions

| Action | Required permission |
| - | - |
| View customers | Read access to commercial planning. |
| Create, edit or delete customers | Edit access to customers. |

## Related

* [Sales orders](/en/concepts/planning/sales-orders)
* [Demand and supply](/en/concepts/planning/demand-and-supply)
* [Create a sales order](/en/guides/sales/introduction)


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